For the last few mornings, I have witnessed a strange work of nature. We live in a neighborhood that is "in the woods". So, we see a good share of wildlife, from time to time, especially a wide variety of birds. While sitting in my den in the early morning lately, I have become aware of a thumping sound, seemingly coming from the dining room. Each time I went to investigate, I saw a gorgeous male cardinal, repeatedly hurling himself against the panes of the large window. He sees his reflection in the glass, and tries to get into the house, for some bird-y reason. It has to be a painful and shocking experience. It gets him "nowhere". Seeing me scares him sufficiently to send him flying off, back into "his world". So, my appearing becomes an act of mercy toward Mr. Cardinal.
Have you ever done that? Seen some beguiling sight and left all that is good, right and natural about your Christian life to go chase it?
One time, we had friends over for dinner and, as we opened the door to let them in, a little brown bird swooped in also. To spare you all the details, it did not end well. The bird eventually was restored to the outside world, its natural habitat, ... where it was eventually devoured by a predator. The experience of venturing into the foreign habitat had been so confounding and confusing, it lost its ability to live successfully in its own world. Alas, the little brown house wren did not fare as well as the cardinal.
Last week I did something I rarely do. I visited my father's grave. His soul is not there. I highly doubt God conveys any words I speak over his grave to him in Heaven; nothing in scripture supports that. So, I rarely go. But, last week was different.
He was such a great man, and I miss him greatly. Burdened in heart that day, I missed him even more. People say those who have the easiest time embracing God the Father are those who had loving earthly fathers. I can testify this is true. My earthly father, though not Jewish, was a spiritual Ivri1, who taught me how to love, how to sacrifice, how to give. He was the best listener. I so wish I could have one of those "heart to heart", face-to-face talks with him now. It has been more than twenty years since he "crossed over" from physical death to the next life, the life in Heaven that causes earthly life to pale in comparison. He is there, because in his heart, he "crossed over" as a youth, deciding to follow Jesus Christ. I am so sincerely grateful for that heritage of faith. Oh, how I miss him!
The Bible speaks of "panim el panim". In the Hebrew, it means "breath to breath": face-to-face with someone so closely that you are literally able to breathe their breath. In Genesis 32, we read the story of Jacob, all alone, camping under the stars in the wilderness. He is about to face the possible extermination of his entire family and "empire" the next day, at the hands of his brother, Esau. Overnight, he has an unforgettable experience: God Himself appears in the pre-incarnate form of Jesus Christ and physically wrestles with Jacob for hours. In the end, after the Man (the God-Man) has blessed Jacob, he names the place Peniel, because he knew he had seen God face-to-face, breath-to-breath.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
Genesis 32:30 (ESV)
I have learned there are times in the Christian walk where we wrestle with God. The pull of our fleshly, carnal natures is so incredibly strong that we feel we are nearly "sweating drops of blood" in the battle. The temptation is so strong to . . . (fill in your own particulars) yield to temptation. Maybe you have experienced this in your own life.
Perhaps in your past, (or you are struggling right now) you HAVE yielded. The Son of God, the Savior of the world, will draw near to you at those times, if you will ask Him. You do not have to fear the predator of your soul, the enemy, the evil one. You do not have to fear him, if you call on the Ever-Victorious One, Jesus, the God-Man, who took the keys of Hell and Death from the enemy through His finished, redemptive work. You can be spiritually breath-to-breath with the Lover of your Soul, your Heavenly Father. Restoration is literally one breath away.
It is such a sin and a distraction to look at another's heritage or path and be envious, or to wish your path were different. The other morning I got up to hear the Holy Spirit speak to me about this very thing through the "cardinal object lesson", saying, "Live the life you have been given." Through Jesus Christ, God has given us more spiritual gifts and riches than we can even measure! What a cause to praise Him! Still, in our carnality, our humanity, it is so easy to get off the path God has designed especially for each of us, in the center of His will, by looking at how or where He has called someone else. The Bible refers to this sin as "covetousness", wanting what someone else has.
I think of that verse from the apostle Paul's letter to young Timothy (1 Timothy 6:6), in which he admonished, "Boy! Be godly and be content, and you'll go far!" Well, in the King James Version it reads, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." The essence of "godliness" is great faith, trusting the Lord with your "no matter whats" in this life, as well as your eternity in the next. Draw near to Him.
The male cardinal is one of God's most beautiful creations. So are you. So am I. When we find our place in His kingdom and glorify Him there, through the exercising of our faith and the use of the spiritual gifts He has given us, when we "sing" praises to Him through our obedience to Him in our lives, we are at our most beautiful, our most resplendent. It is then we have "found our place."
Even as I type this, that crazed cardinal is back . . . flinging himself repeatedly against my window. Admire the cardinal for his gorgeous plumage and his divine place in God's creation. Don't long to be like him.
Source:
1 http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/cross-over-people.html
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